Buteyko Breathing: What It Is And What Are Its Benefits
Breathing is an essential part of human health and the way in which it is performed can decisively condition our physical and mental health, even helping us overcome certain psychological disorders.
Over the last century, both medicine and psychology have studied the best forms and modalities of breathing, obtaining very effective strategies whose implementation has proven to be truly therapeutic.
The Buteyko breathing method is one of the most used breathing strategies today by psychology professionals to instruct people who want to overcome their psychological problems of all kinds.
In this article We will see what exactly the Buteyko breathing method is its operation, and the main benefits it has on human health.
Dr. Kostantin Buteyko came to the conclusion in 1956 that healthy people have a different breathing rhythm and frequency than those developed by people who have a certain disease or psychological disorder.
Specifically, the doctor observed that Sick people tend to breathe more with their mouths open and their breathing rate is higher than people who do not have any type of significant disease.
This phenomenon led him to develop a breathing technique based on his clinical observations whose main objective was to teach patients to control their breathing and manage it more effectively to learn to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth automatically and permanently
This theory was developed in line with his theory of carbon dioxide disease, which stated that in cases of chronic hyperventilation, the body exhales more air than it inhales, thus producing excess carbon dioxide.
This excess of carbon dioxide was related at the time to many diseases and adverse physiological effects that generated problems for the person both physically and psychologically.
Benefits of Buteyko breathing
Some of the main positive effects and benefits that we can currently find with the implementation of Buteyko breathing are the following:
1. Asthma reduction
A study carried out in Germany in 2021 showed that the implementation of the Buteyko breathing technique works effectively as treatment for children with asthma helping and reinforcing the effects of other forms of therapeutic intervention with which it is combined.
After 3 months of training in 32 children, it was found that the dysfunctional breathing pattern characteristic of asthma was redirected towards a more functional and effective breathing modality.
In addition to that, this study was able to verify that children managed to increase the controlled pause time between breaths, which indicates a greater level of control over breathing.
2. Allows you to unclog your nose
One of the basic exercises of the Buteyko method consists of unclogging a very clogged nostril which helps us breathe better and in turn reduce or eliminate anxious states (taking into account that it is normal to breathe better through one orifice than the other depending on the moment).
This exercise can be done daily whenever we notice that one of our nostrils is sealed.
Various investigations have also shown that, after a period of testing and training, people who presented anxious states or anxiety-depressive symptoms have achieved mitigate symptoms by daily application of this breathing modality (although by itself it does not “eliminate” the disorder).
By incorporating this type of breathing into our daily routine we will also make its practical application increasingly automatic, thus promoting relaxed states away from anxiety, stress or discomfort.
4. Promotes relaxation
Likewise, the Buteyko method can also be performed if we do not have any specific psychological alteration, simply to achieve states of relaxation and calm breathing.
This breathing methodology can help us achieve states of intense relaxation, balance between mind and body and also to realize meditation sessions daily for a few minutes when we need to rest or regain energy.
5. Improvement in sports skills
Scientific research has shown that continued training in the Buteyko breathing method applied to young soccer players resulted in greater athletic performance and improved increased aerobic endurance
In addition to that, this technique also promotes a decrease in resting heart rate and also blood pressure.
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